NEW: Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign is misrepresenting news articles in Google search, making them appear like endorsements, AllSides has found.
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The Harris ads masquerade as news articles w/ a clear pro-Harris slant. The Harris campaign has changed the actual headlines and preview text to make it appear the news outlet is explicitly supporting her candidacy.
Here’s an example from @guardian.
When clicked, the ad links to a normal news article – not an explicit endorsement.
Here’s another example from @AP, which AllSides rates Lean Left
The Harris campaign spent over $750k on Google ads in August, Google Ads data shows. Many targeted swing states, such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
We also tried to find examples of the Trump campaign using similar tactics, but found nothing.
An AllSides editor in Pennsylvania was signed into her company Google account when she discovered the ads. Her search results were likely personalized based on her account data and are difficult to replicate.
Beguiling voters with fake endorsements from major news sources seems to be a new political campaign tactic. Keep an eye out for the “Sponsored” label on Google search results to avoid being misled.
Read more on our blog: allsides.com/blog/harris-ad…
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